Cat Whiskers and Emo Hair
by idiot-inator
Summary: HS AU. Phil is the quirky odd one out at school, hiding behind his poor (of school standards) hairstyle choice, a toy lion and drawn-on whiskers. In comes new boy Dan who tries to peek beneath Phil's shield. Will they be friends?


A/N: Hey, guys! So, I really don't know about this one. I mean, I like it, even though it starts off kinda strange. I don't own these wonderful people, but I seriously love them.

PHIL'S POV

Look at them on that field, tossing the ball around from end goal to end goal. What's going to come of that? Jarrell's the quarterback. He's gonna run the field up through half his twenties and he'll tear his ACL. Never to play again. He's stubborn though, and not too smart. He'll flunk out of college and have to get a job as a gas attendant, because I doubt his dad wants him to stay at home. By the time he gets to middle age, he'll either be homeless and on the street or shooting up for cash. Maybe a drug mule of some kind.

Then there's Tiffany. Head cheerleader. She's bossing them up that ladder, making them form the perfect pyramid. What else has she got going for her? Well, her dad's pretty rich and her mom is getting older. I smell a divorce. So, sometime close to graduation, her dad'll trade her mom in for a hotter model. A younger model, and shower her with gifts so she won't treat him different. But she will. She's not a genius, but she's not a ditz, either. She knows what's going on. She'll clean him out and try to help her mom. But eventually, she'll learn she should've done something sooner. By middle age, her dad'll pass and all his money goes to the newest wife. Tiffany doesn't have squat and she turns to her mom, who doesn't even remember her. And she'll end her life.

Over by the picnic tables, there's Cody and his crew. They won't make it past their thirties, unless one of them surprisingly has a brain under there and quits next year. Eh, I don't see that happening. Under the tree is Kayla and Tyler. Kayla with the flowers in her hair and Tyler with the guitar. They're going to stay a couple until college. She doesn't want to go. She'd rather be a groupie for a new indie band that's come to town, but Tyler says he'll wait for her. He does wait for her, but he needs something else to help him through and he turns to alcohol. Now he's not the plucky singer on the corner, but the slightly skilled rhythmic alcoholic begging for chump change.

Kayla will return though. She'll be back five years later as a single mom just barely getting by. She has to smoke at least five cigarettes a day but has enough sense not to do so around her son. She meets up with Tyler again, while they beg at the same corner. But they aren't a couple anymore. They don't love Mother Earth and her three-year-old Braden is getting sick. She has no money to help him, so she gives him up for adoption. He's sent to the hospital and a doctor there adopts him rather quickly. Two years later, the man's who's adopted him, Connor, is sitting in a business chair, interviewing potential employees.

His eyes fall on a certain someone who's come in, and there is an instant spark. After a week, Connor learns Tyler's been living in his car, so he opens his house to him. Three years later, Connor's no longer the boss, but right under him. Tyler changes office policy on dating; he and Connor are scheduled to be married to set a good example for eight-  
year-old Braden. Kayla is gutter trash, working at a diner to keep up with her failing life.

Then you look over at Anthony and Rhett. They're shouting out rude remarks to the women and dunking the weak and less popular into dumpsters. Wait until they hit college. They won't go unless it actually calls for it. Even then, they won't change. It'll be loud, drunken parties for the rest of their twenties unless one of them lights a cigarette next to a fuel pump or tries to drive while guzzling down a six-pack. If they don't get killed with all the stupid shit, they'll get arrested and maybe killed in jail.

There's Link and Ian. They'll code and get arrested, having privileges taken away and reduced to picking up litter on the streets. Of course, there'll be some hot, dumb girls on their way to the beach who won't realize they're not actually superstars from 'Orange is the New Black'. Then Link'll smart his way out of the country and Ian will live life on the lam as if he were the real Butch Cassidy.

There's Cat and Louise by the wall. Cat's mouth'll get her into trouble come college years. Louise won't stand by her, still clawing at anyone to climb the ladder of success. She won't ever get there though. Some sorority bitches will find her amusing and keep her as a pet. All the while, Cat's getting in and out of fraternity dorms, trying to remember who she belongs to and what her name is.

Finally, there's PJ and Chris. I suppose they're the closest I can come to compare. Still, one's athletic and the other's protective. They've been this way forever, no matter what the exterior shows. They'll be together a long time, even when one of them overdoses and the other tries to kill himself. They'll balance one another out. Then Chris'll get too high or too drunk and cheat and PJ won't have any of it. He'll chain Chris up; force him to stay. PJ's too protective and won't let anyone be around Chris for longer than necessary. Chris will try to escape and he'll die trying. But PJ will keep him there, because Chris is his and no one can take him away.

OMNISCIENT

PJ and Chris walk up to Phil. He's scribbling in his notebook, hiding under the bleachers in his usual spot. Phil notices them in his peripheral vision and quickly closes the book. He stuffs it into his brightly colored backpack and smiles to the newcomers.

"Hey, guys."

"Hey, Phil." PJ smiles. "We're getting a new student next class, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." He smiles.

How could he not? All the way through lunch, that's all anyone had been talking about. Their school is extremely small. There's only twenty-nine people total and this new edition will bring the total student body to thirty. There's only four teachers in the school, and two janitors, two counselors, a lunch lady, a cook, an officer, a desk lady, a librarian, a nurse, a monitor and the principal. That's sixteen staff in total. Phil dusts himself off and follows PJ and Chris to Miss Abernathy's class.

There are fourteen students total: Phil, PJ, Chris, Cat, Ian, Anthony, Link, Tyler, Connor, Kayla, Jarrell, Tiffany, Cody and Louise. Phil has spent enough time with them over the years to quietly inspect their lives. He is a happy kid, though not really extroverted, if anyone asks. Still, he is ostracized. He doesn't fit in with any clique and has a hairstyle dubbed as 'emo hair'. On days he feels less than perfect, he grabs a Sharpie and draws cat whiskers on his face to help him show how he feels. It helps remind him who he is.

There are five tables in the classroom, with three chairs each. Jarrell sits off by the window with Tiffany and Anthony. Tyler sits in the middle with Kayla and Connor. Ian, Link and Louise sit front and center. Close to the door sit PJ, Chris and Cat. Finally, in the back corner sit Phil and Cody. Miss Abernathy stands at the front of the room, giving an introduction for the new student.

Phil's eyes are twinkling, catching every kernel of information, but he isn't really paying any attention. He glances around the tables to gage their reactions on the new student. The popular kids hardly glance to him. They're too busy on their phones. The extroverted kids seem to be eying him with extreme scrutiny. The nerds are gossiping with one another, writing down a double-sided list maybe pros and cons? The close-knit group glance up to the teacher ever so often and gossip with one another in a different fashion from the nerds. Cody is spaced out and Phil finally clicks back to reality upon hearing his name. Miss Abernathy smiles at him and Phil immediately grins back.

"Won't you, Phil?"

He keeps smiling as he glances over to see the new student walking over. He hovers by the seat next to Phil. The black-haired boy pulls out the chair and nods to the teacher. "Of course, I'll make him feel welcome, Miss Abernathy." He giggles in a highly appreciative tone. "We'll be best friends."

"I knew I could count on you, Phil."

.

]]]]]]]]] Hey! Hope you guys like it. I mean, I'm gonna keep writing even if you don't, but it'd be nice to know I've got some fans interested in my phan work. Leave a comment if you are. Thanks a mill! Meow. 


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